2 Further Decline in Credibility Ratings for Most News Organizations For the second time in a decade, the believability ratings for major news organizations have suffered broad-based declines. In the new survey, positive believability ratings have fallen significantly for nine of 13 news organizations tested. This follows a similar downturn in positive believability ratings that occurred between 2002 and The falloff in credibility affects news organizations in most sectors: national newspapers, such as the New York Times and USA Today, all three cable news outlets, as well as the broadcast TV networks and NPR. Across all 13 news organizations included in the survey, the average positive believability rating (3 or 4 on a 4-point scale) is 56%. In 2010, the average positive rating was 62%. A decade ago, the average rating for the news organizations tested was 71%. Since 2002, every news outlet s believability rating has suffered a double-digit drop, except for local daily newspapers and local TV news. The New York Times was not included in this survey until 2004, but its believability rating has fallen by 13 points since then. News Organizations Believability Ratings Decline Average rating across 13 news organizations (based on those who can rate each outlet) Believability rating on 1-4 scale Positive (3 or 4) Negative (1 or 2) % % PEW RESEARCH CENTER July 19-22, Ratings for each news organization based only on those who could rate it. Identical list of 13 news organizations for each year since 2004; in 2002, 12 organizations were included. New York Times was first asked in These are among the major findings of a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted July among 1,001 adults. The survey asks people to rate individual news organizations on believability using a 4-point scale. A rating of 4 means someone believes all or most of what the news organization says; a rating of 1 means someone believes almost nothing of what they say. The believability ratings for individual news organizations like views of the news media generally have long been divided along partisan lines. But partisan differences have grown as Republicans views of the credibility of news outlets have continued to erode. Today, there are only two news organizations Fox News and local TV news that receive positive believability ratings from at least two-thirds of Republicans. A decade ago, there were only two news organizations that did not get positive ratings from at least

3 2 two-thirds of Republicans. By contrast, Democrats generally rate the believability of news organizations positively; majorities of Democrats give all the news organizations tested ratings of 3 or 4 on the 4-point scale, with the exception of Fox News. Current Believability Ratings The Pew Research Center has asked about the believability of individual news organizations for more than two decades. During this period, the Center also has asked separately about the news media s overall performance; ratings for the news media s accuracy, fairness and other aspects of performance also have shown longterm declines. (For the most recent report, see Press Widely Criticized, But Trusted More than Other Information Sources, Sept. 22, 2011.) The believability measures are based on those who give each news organization a rating. Roughly one-in-five are unable to rate the believability of NPR (21%), the New York Times (19%), the Wall Street Journal (19%) and USA Today (17%). News Organization Believability How much can you believe each? Positive (3/4) Negative (1/2) N Can t rate % % % Local TV news Minutes ABC News Wall Street Journal CNN CBS News Daily newspaper you know best NBC News NPR MSNBC New York Times Fox News USA Today PEW RESEARCH CENTER July 19-22, Ratings for each news organization based only on those who could rate it. As in past believability surveys, local TV news and the CBS News program 60 Minutes receive the most positive ratings. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of those able to rate local TV news give it a rating of 3 or 4. Ratings are comparable for 60 Minutes (64% 3 or 4). Despite the declines in believability, majorities continue to give most news organizations ratings of 3 or 4. However, ratings are mixed for NPR, MSNBC, the New York Times, Fox News and USA Today. About half give each of these news organizations believability ratings of 3 or 4; approximately the same percentages give them ratings of 1 or 2.

4 3 Believability of News Organizations: Positive believability ratings for the New York Times have fallen by nine points since 2010, from 58% to 49%. The decline has been comparable for USA Today. Two years ago, 56% rated USA Today s believability at 3 or 4; today 49% do so. Credibility of Newspapers Wall Street Journal New York Times About six-in-ten (58%) rate the Wall Street Journal s believability positively. That is little changed since 2010 (62%), but in 2002, 77% rated the Journal s believability at 3 or 4 on the 4-point scale. USA Today Daily paper you know best Perceptions of the believability of the daily newspaper you are most familiar with are about the same as they were two years ago. Currently, 57% give their daily newspaper a positive believability rating, which is little changed from 2010 (59%) PEW RESEARCH CENTER July 19-22, Percent giving each news organization believability ratings of 3 or 4 on a 4-point scale. Based on those who could rate each organization in each year.

5 4 Believability ratings for all three major cable news outlets have declined since MSNBC s believability rating has fallen from 60% to 50%, while the percentages giving CNN and Fox News believability ratings of 3 or 4 have declined seven points each, to 58% and 49%, respectively. In 2002, the ratings for all three cable news outlets were considerably higher 76% for CNN, 73% for MSNBC and 67% for Fox News. The believability ratings for local TV news are higher than those for the three cable news outlets. Currently, 65% give local news a rating of 3 or 4. Since 2002, credibility ratings for local TV news have remained more stable than have ratings for the three main cable news outlets. Credibility of Cable, Local TV News CNN Fox News MSNBC Local TV news PEW RESEARCH CENTER July 19-22, Percent giving each news organization believability ratings of 3 or 4 on a 4-point scale. Based on those who could rate each organization in each year.

6 5 There also have been slight declines since 2010 in believability ratings for the three major TV networks ABC News, CBS News and NBC News. Over the past decade, positive ratings for all three have fallen from the low 70s to the mid- to high-50s. More than six-in-ten (64%) give the CBS weekly newsmagazine 60 Minutes believability ratings of 3 or 4. That is down 13 points since Credibility of Network News, 60 Minutes 72 ABC News CBS News Since 2010, the percentage giving NPR believability ratings of 3 or 4 has dropped eight points to 52%. NPR s believability ratings had changed little from 2002 to 2010; about six-inten in each year rated NPR s believability positively. NBC News Minutes PEW RESEARCH CENTER July 19-22, Percent giving each news organization believability ratings of 3 or 4 on a 4-point scale. Based on those who could rate each organization in each year. Credibility of NPR PEW RESEARCH CENTER July 19-22, Percent giving NPR believability ratings of 3 or 4 on a 4-point scale. Based on those who could rate NPR in each year.

7 6 Partisan Gaps in Credibility Ratings Republicans have long held a more negative view of the credibility of the news media than Democrats and this continues to be reflected in current assessments of news outlets. Republicans rate the believability of nine of 13 news organizations less positively than do Democrats. Fox News is the only news organization that is rated higher for believability by Republicans (67% of Republicans vs. 37% of Democrats). However, the percentage of Republicans giving Fox a believability rating of 3 or 4 has fallen 10 points, from 77%, since Partisan differences in believability ratings are more pronounced for broadcast and cable TV news organizations, with more modest gaps for most newspapers. Wide Partisan Differences in Most Believability Ratings % giving each believability rating of 3 or 4 R-D Rep Dem Ind gap % % % % MSNBC CNN ABC News NBC News CBS News Minutes New York Times Daily newspaper you know best NPR Wall Street Journal USA Today Local TV News Fox News PEW RESEARCH CENTER July 19-22, Percent giving each news organization believability ratings of 3 or 4 on a 4-point scale. Based on those who could rate each organization. More than twice as many Democrats as Republicans rate MSNBC s believability positively (69% vs. 32%). The differences are about as large in views of the believability of CNN and the three broadcast networks. The partisan divide in views of the New York Times believability also is substantial; 65% of Democrats, but just 37% of Republicans, rate the believability of the Times at 3 or 4. However, there are smaller differences in views of other newspapers. More Democrats (65%) than Republicans (49%) give positive ratings for the newspaper they know best, but about as many Republicans as Democrats rate the believability of the Wall Street Journal and USA Today positively. A majority of Democrats (59%) give NPR a believability rating of 3 or 4. That compares with 48% of Republicans.

8 7 The partisan differences in views of the believability of most news organizations have increased greatly since For example, the partisan gap in believability of each of the cable networks was only about 10 points a decade ago; today, the gaps in believability ratings for Fox News, MSNBC and CNN are at least 30 points. News Organizations Credibility Ratings by Party % giving each believability rating of 3 or Republicans Democrats R-D Gap % % % % % % % % % % % % CNN Minutes CBS News ABC News MSNBC NBC News NPR Daily newspaper you know best NY Times * Local TV News Wall St. Journal USA Today Fox News PEW RESEARCH CENTER July 19-22, Percent giving each news organization believability ratings of 3 or 4 on a 4-point scale. Based on those who could rate each organization. * New York Times from 2004.

9 8 About the Believability Survey Data The media believability report draws on a series of surveys conducted since The project was initiated by the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press and continued by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press since All believability surveys have been conducted by telephone. Since 2010, cell phone interviewing has been included. All interviews have been conducted in English. The analysis in this report is based primarily on surveys conducted between 2002 and Year Field Dates Sample Size Margin of Error (percentage points) Interview Mode 2002 May 6-16, , Telephone landline 2004 May 3-9, , Telephone landline 2006 June 14-19, , Telephone landline 2008 May 21-25, , Telephone landline 2010 July 8-11, , Telephone landline and cell 2012 July 19-22, , Telephone landline and cell The current survey is based on telephone interviews conducted July 19-22, 2012 among a national sample of 1,001 adults 18 years of age or older living in the continental United States (600 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 401 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 191 who had no landline telephone). The survey was conducted by interviewers at Princeton Data Source under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International. A combination of landline and cell phone random digit dial samples were used; both samples were provided by Survey Sampling International. Interviews were conducted in English. Respondents in the landline sample were selected by randomly asking for the youngest adult male or female who is now at home. Interviews in the cell sample were conducted with the person who answered the phone, if that person was an adult 18 years of age or older. For detailed information about our survey methodology, see: The combined landline and cell phone sample are weighted using an iterative technique that matches gender, age, education, race, Hispanic origin and region to parameters from the March 2011 Census Bureau's Current Population Survey and population density to parameters from the Decennial Census. The sample also is weighted to match current patterns of telephone status, based on extrapolations from the 2011 National Health Interview Survey. The weighting procedure also accounts for the fact that respondents with both landline and cell phones have a greater probability of being included in the combined sample and adjusts for household size within the landline sample. Sampling errors and statistical tests of significance take into account the effect of weighting. With a 95% level of confidence, the margin of error for the total sample of 1,001 is plus-or-minus 3.6 percentage points. Analysis in this report was based on those who could rate each news organization. That number ranged from 796, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.0 points, to 947, with a margin of error of 3.7 points. The sample included 239 Republicans, 286 Democrats and 384 independents. Margins of error are 7.4 points, 6.8 points and 5.8 points, respectively. Not all partisans offered ratings of all news

10 9 organizations. As few as 183 Republicans and as many as 230 Republicans rated the various news outlets, with margins of error ranging from 7.5 to 8.4 percentage points. As few as 222 Democrats and as many as 272 Democrats rated the news outlets, with margins of error from 6.9 to 7.7 percentage points. Among independents, as few as 314 and as many as 363 rated the news outlets, producing margins of error of 6.0 to 6.4 percentage points. Sample sizes and sampling errors for other subgroups are available upon request. In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

11 10 Pew Research Center, 2012

12 11 PEW RESEARCH CENTER July 19-22, 2012 OMNIBUS FINAL TOPLINE N=1,001 QUESTIONS PEW.1, PEW.3 AND PEW.4 PREVIOUSLY RELEASED; NO QUESTION PEW.2 ASK ALL: PEW.5 As I name some news organizations 1, please rate how much you think you can BELIEVE each that I name on a scale of 4 to 1. On this four point scale, "4" means you can believe all or most of what the news organization says, and "1" means you believe almost nothing of what they say. First, how would you rate the believability of [INSERT ITEM; RANDOMIZE] on this scale of 4 to 1? How about [NEXT ITEM]? [IF NECESSARY: How would you rate the believability of [NEXT ITEM] on this scale of 4 to 1 where "4" means you can believe all or most of what the news organization says, and "1" means you believe almost nothing of what they say?] [INTERVIEWERS: PROBE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN NEVER HEARD OF AND CAN T RATE ] (VOL.) Cannot Never (VOL.) Believe Believe Heard Can't of Rate a. USA Today July 19-22, July 8-11, Late May, June, May, May, May, May, April, February, August, June, b. The Wall Street Journal July 19-22, July 8-11, * 27 Late May, June, May, May, May, May, April, February, August, June, c. The New York Times July 19-22, * 19 July 8-11, Late May, June, May, In 2010 and earlier, question introduction referred to organizations, not news organizations.

MONDAY, JULY 16, Just Over Half Know Where the Candidates Stand Raising Taxes on Rich Seen as Good for Economy, Fairness FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Kohut President, Pew Research Center Carroll

MONDAY, MARCH 19, 2012 Those Aware of Fracking Favor Its Use As Gas Prices Pinch, Support for Oil and Gas Production Grows FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Kohut President, Pew Research Center Carroll

MAY 7, 2013 45% Say Muslim Americans Face A Lot of Discrimination After Boston, Little Change in Views of Islam and Violence FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER FOR THE PEOPLE & THE

DECEMBER 14, 2012 Israel Support Unchanged in Wake of Gaza Conflict Public Says U.S. Does Not Have Responsibility to Act in Syria FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Kohut President, Pew Research Center

JULY 26, 2013 But More Approve than Disapprove Few See Adequate Limits on NSA Surveillance Program FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER FOR THE PEOPLE & THE PRESS Michael Dimock Director

JUNE 10, 2013 Public Says Investigate Terrorism, Even If It Intrudes on Privacy Majority Views NSA Phone Tracking as Acceptable Anti-Terror Tactic A Pew Research Center/Washington Post Survey FOR FURTHER

NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 3, 2014 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT: Aaron Smith, Senior Researcher 202.419.4372 RECOMMENDED CITATION: Pew Research Center, November,

Search and email still top the list of most popular online activities Two activities nearly universal among adult internet users Kristen Purcell, Associate Director for Research, Pew Internet Project August

NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE JANUARY 23, 2014 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT: Carroll Doherty, Director of Political Research Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Senior Researcher

NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE APRIL 2, 2014 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT: Carroll Doherty, Director, Political Research Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Senior Researcher Rob

FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 200, 4:00PM NYC Mosque Opposed, Muslims Right to Build Mosques Favored Public Remains Conflicted Over Islam FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pew Research Center for the

NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE MARCH 28, 2016 FOR MEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES: Carroll Doherty, Director of Political Research Bridget Jameson, Communications Associate 202.419.4372

APRIL 4, 2013 Majority Now Supports Legalizing Marijuana FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER FOR THE PEOPLE & THE PRESS Michael Dimock Director Carroll Doherty Associate Director Seth

JANUARY 6, 2012 More Concern among Opponents about Wrongful Convictions Continued Majority Support for Death Penalty FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Kohut President, Pew Research Center Carroll

NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 19, 2015 BY Aaron Smith FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT: Aaron Smith, Associate Director, Research Dana Page, Senior Communications

1 NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE November 4, 2015 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT: Kim Parker, Director of Social Trends Research Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Associate Director

NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE July 14, 2015 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT: Amy Mitchell, Director of Journalism Research Dana Page, Communications Manager 202.419.4372

NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE: February 11, 2016 BY Aaron Smith FOR MEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES: Aaron Smith, Associate Director, Research Dana Page, Senior Communications Manager

Americans and their cell phones Mobile devices help people solve problems and stave off boredom, but create some new challenges and annoyances Aaron Smith, Senior Research Specialist 8/15/2011 http://pewinternet.org/reports/2011/cell-phones.aspx

Americans and text messaging 31% of text message users prefer texting to voice calls, and young adults stand out in their use of text messaging Aaron Smith, Senior Research Specialist 9/19/2011 http://pewinternet.org/reports/2011/cell-phone-texting-2011.aspx

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012 Politics on Social Networking Sites Campaign and policy-related material on SNS plays a modest role in influencing most users views and political activities. Democrats and liberals are

www.pewresearch.org AUGUST 26, 2013 Home Broadband 2013 Some 70% of American adults have a high-speed broadband connection at home; an additional 10% of Americans lack home broadband but do own a smartphone.

www.pewresearch.org JUNE 10, 2013 Tablet Ownership 2013 Tablet adoption has almost doubled over the past year. For the first time a third (34%) of American adults now own a tablet computer, including almost

NOVEMBER 6, 2012 Social Media and Voting 22% of registered voters have announced their vote for president on social media like Facebook or Twitter Lee Rainie Director, Pew Internet Project Pew Research

NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE MARCH 10, 2016 BY Aaron Smith FOR MEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES: Aaron Smith, Associate Director, Research Dana Page, Senior Communications Manager 202.419.4372

Issue Ranks Lower on the Agenda SUPPORT FOR ABORTION SLIPS Results from the 2009 Annual Religion and Public Life Survey FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life Luis Lugo Director

CBS NEWS/NEW YORK TIMES POLL FOR RELEASE: Friday, January 16, 2009 6:30 pm EST THE PRESIDENCY OF GEORGE W. BUSH January 11-15, 2009 President George W. Bush will leave office with some of the most negative

April 22, Public s Knowledge of Science and Technology Take the Latest Quiz Online! Before you read the report, we invite you to test your own science and technology IQ by taking the latest interactive

NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE DECEMBER 21, 2015 BY John B. Horrigan AND Maeve Duggan FOR MEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES: John B. Horrigan, Senior Researcher Lee Rainie, Director, Internet,

www.pewresearch.org FEBRUARY 14, 2013 The Demographics of Social Media Users 2012 Young adults are more likely than older adults to use social media. Women, African- Americans, and Latinos show high interest

NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE APRIL 7, 2015 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT: Carroll Doherty, Director of Political Research Rachel Weisel, Communications Associate 202.419.4372

NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE MAY 26, 2016 BY Jeffrey Gottfried and Elisa Shearer FOR MEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES: Amy Mitchell, Director of Journalism Research Rachel Weisel, Communications

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2012 Trends in News Consumption: 1991-2012 In Changing News Landscape, Even Television is Vulnerable FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Kohut President, Pew Research Center

The Project on Medical Liability in Pennsylvania Funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts PENNSYLVANIA MALPRACTICE STUDY General Public Survey Small Business Survey Conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates,

OCTOBER 19, 2012 Social Media and Political Engagement 66% of social media users have employed the platforms to post their thoughts about civic and political issues, react to others postings, press friends

Total N = 892 POLL NEW YORK CITY Aug. 27-31, 2010 Results are based on the total city-wide sample unless otherwise noted. An asterisk indicates registered respondents. TRENDS ARE BASED ON NEW YORK TIMES

MARCH 20, 2013 Growing Support for Gay Marriage: Changed Minds and Changing Demographics FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER FOR THE PEOPLE & THE PRESS Michael Dimock Director Carroll

How Journalists See Journalists 2004 in VIEWS ON PROFITS, PERFORMANCE AND POLITICS FOREWORD News organizations today are facing pressures that could not even be imagined a decade ago. Competition is growing

News consumption in the UK: 2014 Report Research Document Publication date: June 2014 About this document This report provides key findings from Ofcom s 2014 research into news consumption across television,

NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD JANUARY 09, 2015 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT: Maeve Duggan, Research Analyst, Pew Research Center Nicole B. Ellison, Associate Professor, University

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2010 Majority Continues to Favor Gays Serving Openly in Military Support For Same-Sex Marriage Edges Upward FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pew Research Center for the People & the

65% of online adults use social networking sites Women maintain their foothold on SNS use and older Americans are still coming aboard Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist Kathryn Zickuhr, Research Specialist

www.pewresearch.org OCTOBER 18, 2013 35% of those ages 16 and older own tablet computers Up from 25% last year more than half of those in households earning $75,000 or more now have tablets 24% own e-book

Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Part I: What the Survey Found 4 Introduction: American Identity & Values 10 Year after September 11 th 4 Racial, Ethnic, & Religious Minorities in the U.S. 5 Strong

NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE JUNE 1, 2015 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT: Amy Mitchell, Director of Journalism Research Dana Page, Communications Manager 202.419.4372

Research Highlights LONG-TERM CARE IN AMERICA: AMERICANS OUTLOOK AND PLANNING FOR FUTURE CARE INTRODUCTION In the next 25 years, the U.S. population is expected to include 82 million Americans over the

Internet Access and Use: Does Cell Phone Interviewing make a difference? By Evans Witt, Jonathan Best and Lee Rainie A paper prepared for The 2008 Conference of The American Association for Public Opinion

NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE AUGUST 19, 2015 BY Maeve Duggan FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT: Maeve Duggan, Research Associate Dana Page, Senior Communications Manager

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012 Privacy and Data Management on Mobile Devices More than half of app users have uninstalled or avoided an app due to concerns about personal information Jan Lauren Boyles Research Intern,

www.pewresearch.org OCTOBER 10, 2013 Online Video 2013 Over the past four years, the percent of American adult internet users who upload or post videos online has doubled from 14% in 2009 to 31% today.

THE FIELD POLL THE INDEPENDENT AND NON-PARTISAN SURVEY OF PUBLIC OPINION ESTABLISHED IN 1947 AS THE CALIFORNIA POLL BY MERVIN FIELD Field Research Corporation 601 California Street, Suite 210 San Francisco,

The Audience for Online Video- Sharing Sites Shoots Up As the audience for online video continues to grow, a leading edge of internet users are migrating their viewing from their computer screens to their